Boards over... so WHAT??

That's what my Parents said when I came home and screamed in joy. It put me off! I have restricted myself so much to so many things - TV, internet, movie outings with friends, normal outings with friends... Name any luxury - I had given it up! But my parents were indifferent! They said, "Your real freedom comes only after you are done with your college entrance exams"

I was SO heartbroken! What's worse - dad nearly put a blanket ban on me for accessing the Interenet - but I pleaded him and he agreed for 1-1 &1/2 hours on weekends and thats when I am posting this.. sad!!

But I am glad, just as you are, that the boards are OVER. Enough of those dreams I'd have before every exam:

Before Chem: That SAME alkyl halideand amine group

Before Physics: I am installing a full-wave rectifier in my fan! (apparently that was the only thing in physics I was confident about :P)

Before English: I am speaking in front a large group of people telling them how to use the "interstices" in their lives to do something productive.

Before Math: I was solving calculus. I still remember that sum(to find the limit of sum of xdx)

Before Computer Science: I was dreaming about Facebook/Orkut (:P :P :P)

Before Bio: I didnt, cuz I am NOT a bio student (yay!)

Forget dreams, I think these things dominated our thoughts day and night till the exam was done with... right? If we'd call each other up, the call lasted for 2 mins only and the conversation was strictly academic.

But, now I am glad that this phase is OVER. And also sad. Didn't you realise that on the day of our last exam, we had worn ou school uniform for the last day...? Didn't you realise that it was the last time you were going to see ALL your classmates(friends or enemies both) together peacefully? Didn't you realise that three hours was the maximum time you'd now spend in a school? Aren't you going to miss those colourful posters on the wall reminding us of birthdays and other things?

The school phase for us, dears, has officially come to an end :( :( Now, we need to make our path. We have to study for securing a seat in a reputable college. I am sure ALL of us are going to do well, and WE WILL... right?

All the best to you!!
-[S]

PS -- I will update about the farewell, room no 18, etc later :)

Update :

Hi guys..!! Exams nearing so no more posts lined up..! I'll put up everything later.. If you are expecting that Vday-farewell, room no 118, things-we-will-miss-about-school and other posts to be out soon -- sorry -- later later later..!! Ack.... Parents shouting from behind...!! Have to leave now!!

All the best to you.. God Bless..

You take care

WISH ME LUCK..!!
-[S]

One and a half months left..

One and a half months left – now what?

One and a half months left – and then?? THE BOARD EXAMS..!!

Don’t those two words send a shiver down your spine? Well, I kinda feel tingly when I think about them.

Since its 1 + 1/2 months left, I think that we should try and be absolutely thorough with our subjects. In this half month that is. So that we can dedicate that ONE month for revision and question-paper solving.

Also, Board Practical is coming up. So, the time-table of our day should be such that we don’t cram everything up in our brain just one day before but read something of it everyday so that we are fully prepared. O yea, making time-tables.

Do you remember the no. of times we’ve failed to stick to our timetables?? Possibly 90% of the times. So then what is to be done? It’s simple! Make a realistic timetable. Chalk out your plan in such a way that you think you CAN do it easily. For example, if you cannot study in the afternoon, sleep in that time. Stay up late that day and finish up. Calculate the amount of sleep you require and the duration of study-breaks you will take. Make a specific plan. By specific, I mean, against the time slot write down the subject you shall dedicate that period to. In this way, preparation will not be in a haphazard manner but planned and structured. Sounds a lot of work, but believe me, I tried it and it worked for me!! It also helps to keep you stress-free to a certain extent.

You could also make a checklist for the next day and keep crossing out the tasks you’ve completed. THAT gives you the itchy feeling to cross out more tasks which in turn automatically gets you working and bingo!! Haven’t you stuck to your schedule? And don’t be disheartened if you miss out on a few tasks for the day. If you could successfully do 7/10 of the tasks – congratulations!! That’s really really nice!! But if you score 3/10 at the end of the day – go pull your socks up and work harder.

Well, these are my tips to you. Please don’t think I picked them up from some self-help book. If I must recommend you the self-help book way, it’ll be very hard on you now. I have tried these techniques myself and they have done wonders for me. It really did help. So, take some useful pointers from this post and start working!!

Wishing you all the best!!

-[S]

What we learnt in 2008..?

There are a few things we all learnt in the year that just went past us...

We learnt about the various loopholes in out system, courtesy 26/11 attacks.

We learnt that if we want, we can vote, yet choose not to vote... i.e. I am talking about the 49-O votes.

We learnt that for a better system, the public should change themselves and their attitude first.

Even though we pretend not to understand much, believe me, we are all affected in some or the other way by Recession 2008.

Karzzzz, the HR remake, has four z's.

Anushka Sharma is only 19!! And she debuted with SRK playing his love interest?? LOL!

SRK and Sallu will never be friends, no matter what!

Listen up, Jen still hates Angie Jolie(who wouldn't? She took away one of the most good looking men from a very good wife) and was JOKING when she said that she was spending Christmas with that family.

Pamela and Micheal?? No, no, NO!!

ShruN and Termite are just friends, okay? Actually, we'd love to see them together someday!! But as of now, you should see them fight!!

Size Zero is UNCOOL...!! So girls, go eat something!!

Hats off to Arvind Adiga, even though I still have to read his book. Has to be good, c'mon, he won the MAN BOOKER PRIZE, something which I 've been dreaming about since class six!!

Bindrastic!! Abhinav Bindra, we are proud of you!! Okay, I know we've not won a decent no. of medals, but hey, after ages we've won something..! Don't put it down just as yet.

I hope BackStreet Boys come to India ATLEAST NEXT YEAR..!! Oh please.... WE LOVE YOU GUYS!! AVRIL, YOU TOO!

Dostana is NOT a gay movie, and if you're looking for one go watch Brokeback Mountain.

Quantum of Solace, Transporter 3 are all duds. Don't waste your money.

Throw that DVD of Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Love Story 2050 into a bin nearest to you... Hey Bhaggu! I wanna bang my head on the wall.

Imran Khan fans... Kidnap sucks, right?

But above all we learnt:
1) SHM - to pass Class XI exams.
2) Integration - to pass Class XII exams.
3) How to manipulate data for Physics Practicals when the Galvo just won't show deflection in the opposite direction.
4) Qualitative Analysis
5) There's more to vectors..
6) Probability is no longer a 3-marks chapter. It's got a weightage of 10 marks..!!
7) Data File Handling in C++
8) How to ignore Mr.Loser
9) How to butter a few people.. I won't mention who..!
10) The correct spelling of Kothamangalam Subbu..!! Phew!!

-----------------------------Good Bye 2008!!---------------------------------------

Comments and the Pre-boards..

First Pre-boards came and took us by surprise. A few sentences commenly overheard between students:

After Chemistry:
"I studied Organic this time, phew!!"
"Darn! I skipped numericals of ElectroChem, that's what she asked now..."
"Äck!! Friedelcraft's acylation... ****!! Why did I not realize that?!"
"Arre, I could do something from p-block,but d,f went for a toss.."

After Math:
"Iss baar, Integration kiya tha.. aur woh aaya!!"
"Vector Algebra..!! WTF?? Vector Algebra.. ARGHH!!"
"Ï was blank in the planes-wala question.."
"Shit! cos2x ko last mein sin ke form mein convert karna bhul gaya/i!"

After Physics:
"O Bingo!! I studied that stupid p-n junction diode"
"Me too, I messed up that Cyclotron, made my own principle"
"You got the Logic Gates??"
"Darn you!! It was because of Eddy Currents"

After Comp Sci:
"Output?"
"Linked Lists??"
"Binary/Linear Search?"
"Output?"

After Bio:
"I left this question"
"I couldn't write much for this one"
"Studied only the new chappies.."

After English:
"I knew the Mumbai Attacks wala question would come"
"WTF yaar?? 10 marks for Kothamongalam Subbu?"
"I forgot to write the key in the end for Note-Making question"
"Issh!! I didn't know that word meant this"


But, overall, the performance was way better than last time... Including Physics. Next, Pre-Boards II. But before that.. One last post later on the year that's coming to a close...

Adios Amigos!!

Results and well..

Sunday, last day of the Vacation

A typical conversation between two friends:

A: Hi..! How are you?
B: Fine. You?
A: Same here. Actually, I am tensed about results…
B: Oh yes, the results… I forgot about them! How have you performed?
A: Not well at all(Not too good, bad, bakwas, stupid, etc) I wonder what’ll happen
B: Will you pass?
A: (LONG SILENCE)
B: What?
A: Umm…
B: Not sure? Which subjects you flunking in?
A: I… maybe Math, could be physics, definitely in chemistry
B: But you said your Math went fine.
A: The definition of ‘fine’ has changed, dear.
B: huh?
A: Borderline, perhaps.
… And so on

Once upon a time, loosing a mark or two wouldn’t really bother us much, we’d say, it’s still in the 90’s or 80’s,etc. But now, he he, we literally scan our paper line-by-line to actually find a slight opportunity to find at least one mark which will put us on the borderline.

Monday morning, in the bus:
No Loser (yay!), no Friend, another classmate PV. PV and me chatting about the vacation trying our best to hide the tension in our minds. But the topic of results came up and we looked tensed and worried. Discussing performance worsened our mood. But yet, we were somewhat hopeful and were a li'l bit optimistic.

And then, our Physics teacher walked in. The atmosphere suddenly became tense. Every single person was saying his/her prayers and hoped that the marks weren't too bad. Well, their prayers were answered: The marks weren't too bad, they were, in fact, VERY BAD. All of us were appalled by our performance. Those digits circled in red pen didn't make any sense.. How could we have done so bad? THIS BAD?? Partners looked at each other with wide eyes. This is just the beginning.. was the common thought that crossed everybody's minds. There was more to come. Actually, none of us were completely prepared for the Physics exam, the situation was like -- One Holiday, 11 chapters and next day Exam. Luckily, the teacher advised us to study the FAQs and SAQs so that we could do something that day..

Next, Maths. Majority of the class had done badly. Everybody had felt the pinch in Integration and the luck was rotten as this time in Calculus,more stress was laid on Integration. Well, many of us lost our marks over here.

After that, Chemistry. But everybody had lost hope. The marks of Chemistry were slighty better with very few students below the borderline. But you couldn't be happy at all because the marks weren't that good but definately better than those of Physics and Math.

Next, English. Hopes soared. "C'mon re.. English ke marks kuch toh achche hoge.. PCM ke tarah bure toh nahi.." Well, naah! Class average was pathetic. 'Twas something around 40%. But quite a fraction of the class had done well. But my teacher expected more from me(well, she picked up the duster and was poised to hit me with it :( ). I promised her I'd do well next time. She exhaled audibly.

Lastly, Computers. "I am toh pakka fail in this subject!!" was the statement overheard commonly in conversations. But this time, the teacher was somewhat lenient in her correction. Yet, some could not make it past the borderline and pleaded her on bended knees to bring them past the line. She complied only if she felt there could be only half a mark finding its place somewhere, somehow with some logic.

---------------------------------End of the Dhamaka----------------------

New morning, new day, something new to look forward to.

But everyone wore a gloomy look and at the mention of results some eyes would turn misty.

*Breaking News*

*Loser broke up with his gf!!*

Okay, I am neither happy nor sad, least bothered, but hey, that's the news I first heard. And then, everybody's talking to everybody, talking about how they told their marks to their parents, the reactions, the restrictions, new rules, etc etc.

Me and my group were huddled in out usual spot and pretended to be interested in the floor. Finally, I broke the silence. What followed next was a long speech by me on how to improve the position which we are in. Nods, grumbles, and finally "yes, you are right"s followed. I motivated my group. I motivated myself. I think, we should all motivate ourselves.

See, jo ho gaya,so ho gaya.. Now you can't do anything about it. Accept the fact that you haven't done well in this set of exams. But hey, the Pre-Board I is coming up and we still have a month to pull our socks up and slog it out. Listen, I am sure we've all heard this talk from our parents. Well, they are right and so I am. And I am not going to say more because by now, I am sure we are all clear on what we want now and how we want it.

The next day, a dramatic change came over most of us. Whenever we had a free period, we religiously took our long notebook and an RD Sharma Part II and absorbed ourselves with Integration. Well, I am one of those too. Infact, atleast 3/4th of the class is. Glad to see change, and hoping the best for all.

C'MON GUYS!! WE CAN DO IT!!

**____ALL THE BEST_____**

Vacations come to an end...

Bonjour juene filles et garçons!!(darn, it means young girls and boys)

Vacations are coming to an end--Wait a min! They have ended, it's the last day today, SUNDAY.. And, I don't feel like I have had a Vacation..!! Because I did nothing(in terms of acads)! Then what did I do? Well, first week went in the festivities. Hey, don't look at me like that, I had just ended with my examinations and definately wanted a break and perfect excuse was just waiting for me... DIWALI!! The festival of lights, when we celebrate the victory of Good over Evil, when we go to each other's places and stuff sweets into their mouths and yet try to blurt out an incomprehensible "HAPPY DIWALI" to each other.. aaahhhhhh! What a bliss!! I wish Diwali lasted for a week more, it'd be cool na?

Okay, coming back. Two weeks -- I had planned(blindly) to do a chapter each from PCM everyday and finish off the syllabus, BUT all went kaput!! :( I could do only two chapters from chemistry, none from physics and Differential Equations and li'l bit Integration from Math. *starts crying* ooooooo this is soooooooooo baaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!!! Why do things pile up like this on me and I just lol around and write this stupid blog?!

Well, this is the last day... Goodbye people!! I shall see you again!! Or maybe not.. School's re-opening tomorrow and we shall be welcomed with our results.. They aren't good this time and really, really, really hope to improve!! Okay, I'll promise to do well the next..

Chalo phir, you take care and so will I.. Must catch some sleep

Sayonara!!

--SaturnIndian[SI]